Q-NOTES
June 1991
PRIDE IN PRINT
Switchboard, Charlotte (704) 525-6128
AIDS Hotline, Charlotte (704) 333-AIDS
PFLAG Hotline, Charlotte (704) 364-1474
AIDS Hotline, Columbia (803) 779-PALS
CaU Line, Wilmington (919) 675-9222
i (704) 531-9988 Vol 6, No. 6
If it’s June, it must be Gay Pride
by Dan Kirsch
Q-Notes Staff
Whatever your pleasure, you’re sure to
find it in June by participating in one of many
Pride events around the Carolina’s. There are
parades, picnics, marches, speeches, dances,
concerts, theatre, and films. You can get your
gay pride fix in Asheville; Chapel Hill; Char
lotte; Columbia; Durham; Greenville, South
Carolina; or Raleigh.
The month’s activities begin on Friday,
Ju'^e 7, with the opening night of the Lesbian
Th sbians’ production of Cinderella: The Real
Tru Stoo’i a comedy by Cheryl Moch. The
open ng weekend is sponsored by and a ben
efit fcj Pride 91.
Charlotte’s gay and lesbian chorus, ONE
VOICE, will strut their stuff in an evening of
light entertainment on June 14 and 15. The
concert will include the music of Sondheim,
Bernstein, Thompson, and some Big Band
numbers.
Q-Notes and Charlotte’s First Tuesday
Association for Gay and Lesbian Equality
will host the Sixth Annual Gay Pride Picnic
on Sunday, June 16, from 2:00-9:00 pm at
Bryant Park. A program will begin at 4:30 pm
and include J oan Miley and the Fitout trio and
guest speaker Martha Wilson (co-chair, NC
Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality), and
will be followed by a dusk dance at 7:00 pm
with music by D.J. Ry. Outdoor games, free
food (hot dogs, hamburgers, vegetarian food),
beverages (iced tea, soft drinks, lemonade,
beer), and desserts by PFLAG will be avail
able all day.
Before Stonewall is the Pride entry of the
Charlotte Gay & Lesbian Film Series. Rita
Mae Brown narrates this 1986 film, a history
of homosexual America, from the roaring
twenties through the McCarthy Fifties, to
Stonewall.
Saturday, June 22, is the big day in Colum
bia, South Carolina. The march down Main
Street to the State House begins promptly at
noon. Speakers at this year’s rdly include
Karen Thompson, a lesbian who continues to
fight for guardianship of Sharon Kowalski,
her disabled lover; Tim McFeeley, Executive
Director of The Human Rights Campaign
Fund, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian
rights and AIDS lobby organization; Mandy
Carter, who chaired Senate Vote ’90 which
led the fight against Jesse Helms’ reelection;
Jim Sears, author of the recently published
Growing Up Gay In The South; and Dale
McCormick, openly lesbian state legislator
from Maine. Entertainment includes
Charlotte’s ONE VOICE, and Les Cagelles
and the cast from La Cage Aux Folks, the gay
pride musical currently in production at
Columbia’s Workshop Theatre.
The countdown to the end of the month
begins on Friday, June 28, when the Lesbian
and Gay Health Project holds a Pride Dance at
the Sheraton University Center in Durham.
The 6th Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride
March and Celebration will be held in Durham
on Saturday, June 29. Thousands will gather
to march and rally. The rally, in a shaded area
with many vendors and information tables,
includes entertainment from Die Yiddische
Bande, ONE VOICE, the Capital Cowboys,
and Tracy Drach. Speakers include Mandy
Carter, and individuals from ACT-UP and the
NC Anti-Homophobic Violence Project.
Charlotte’s First Tuesday group want people
to “Ride with Pride” — a chartered bus will
provide a convenient way to travel and party.
Lastly, the North/South Carolina lesbian
and gay Volleyball Tournament will be held
in Raleigh on Sunday, June 30, at Kiwanis
Park. Teams from all over the Carolina’s will
compete for the annual championship.
If all this activity isn’t enough, you could
go to Atlanta (June 22 and 23), New York
City, San Francisco or a myriad of other
happening places. But nothing could be finer
than to be in Carolina in June!
Write to life
By David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
Freedom doesn't come easily for me,
though often I feel its sheltering warmth.
I wage my battle in solitude;
certain that no one else fights my demons.
Locked in deathgrip with formidable foes:
anxiety crushing me,
fear debilitating my very spirit...
A5 I lay my head to rest each night
I pray for the strength to win yet another
victory over my own imagination.
Freedom doesn’t come easily for me,
the knowledge that I could be the master
of my own destiny frightens me.
That I must learn to care for, nourish and
protect myself b^ore all others is anathema to me.
If I had only one path to follow,
life would be a child's play ground full
of wonder and surprise.
/ would banish stress, anxiety, greed and corruption.
And when I banished my own fears,
I would be free.
—Mark Drum
Freedom Doesn't Come Easily For Me
While growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, Mark Drum said that he
always felt different from other people. He didn't really understand
what the difference was, only that it was wrong. "I was wrestling with
a hurt that came from nowhere. I suffered deep cycles of depression
and thoughts of suicide."
As a result of this internal turmoil, he became an extremely shy,
introverted adolescent who had difficulty relating to others. He en
dured numerous incidents of harassment and teasing by his peers. "One
terrible afternoon, a vicious member of the cross-country team dragged
me into a closet and threatened me repeatedly with words that had no
meaning to me. I don't even remember what he said, but he hated me
with a deep and frightening loathing."
Mark couldn't comprehend the reality of his burgeoning homosexu
ality because there wasn't enough information available to identify it.
The only time he ever recalled the mention of homosexuality was from
a coach in high school who had given a cautionary speech to the
students. The speech was about a man who sold drugs and got a former
student addicted and then forced him into male prostitution to continue
receiving the narcotics.
This image of male-to-male sexuality, as the result of depraved and
sadistic circumstances, horrified Mark to the point that he was con
vinced being gay was an intrinsic evil. He decided to subjugate his
feelings and live a "normal" heterosexual lifestyle.
It was at this point in Mark's life that he met Jenny. Her family had
just moved to Mankato when Mark noticed her in church. A quick
friendship formed because they were alike in many ways. Jenny was
as shy and reserved as Mark was and they found acceptance in each
other. "I ran home one day after spending an afternoon at her house
playing poker to tell my mother that I was going to marry her. I had
found unconditional love for the first time in my life."
Mark graduated high school in 1968 and attended Mankato Col
lege for two years before transferring to Kansas University at Lawrence.
Jenny also came to attend KU at L.; and for the first time, Mark's life
was going well.
He won a coveted role in the
university's production of "The Three
Penny Opera," playing opposite George
Rose (Tony-Award winning actor), was
doing great in his classes, and was begin
ning to assert himself socially.
Mark had a deep love for Jenny and
asked her to marry him. He sincerely
believed that all men got married and
raised families. "When I was eleven years
—————old I went to the local public swimming
pool with my best friend and memorized the days that my favorite
lifeguard was working. We followed him from station to station
around the pool and even managed to strike up an acquaintanceship
with him. In my eyes he was everything I wished I could be: tall and
haiidsome, married with a young daughter and wife. What else could
anyone dream of?"
Continued on page 6
This image of male-
to-male sexuality
...horrified Mark
to the point that he
was convinced
being gay was an
intrinsic evil.
Pride Notes
T June/7-28
Various dates. Cinderella: The Real
True Story. Durham. Presented by the
Lesbian Thesbians. Durham Arts Coun
cil, 8 pm. Tickets: 919/286-1168 or 919/
682-3672.
Y Friday/14, Saturday/15
ONEVOICEChorus. Charlotte. "Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Con
cert." Unitarian Church, 234 N. Sharon
Amity Road, 8:15 pm. Tickets: $5-$10
sliding scale; 704/536-1372.
Y Sunday/16
Sixth Annual Gay Pride Picnic. Char
lotte. Sponsored by Q-Notes and First
Tuesday. BryantPark,2-9pm. Free. Info;
704/531-9988.
Asheville Gay & Lesbian Pride Festi
val andAsheville Gay Men’s Chorus Caba
ret. Asheville. Pride Festival at Memorial
Field. Info: 704/258-3318.
Greenville Pride Picnic. Greenville, SC.
Sponsored by the Palmetto Gay/Lesbian
Association. Timmons Park off EastNorth
St., 11 am-3 pm. Info: 803/271-4207.
Y Thursday/20
Before Stonewall. Charlotte. Gay &
Lesbian Film Series. Sponsored by First
Tuesday, MCSP, Wesley Mancini andZay
Kittredge. Duke Power Theatre, Spirit
Square, 8 pm. Tickets: $5,704/376-9563.
Y Saturday/22
South Carolina GaylLesbian Pride
March. Columbia. Assemble 11 am at
Richland and Assembly Streets. March
begins at Noon, Rally to follow. Gala
Party to follow at Club New York, comer
of Blanding and Barnwell. Info; 803/782-
2912.
Y Sunday/23
Annual Pride Potluck Picnic. Raleigh.
Sponsored by St. John’s MCC. Pullen
Park, Western and Ashe Avenues, 11 am
3 pm. Info: 919/851-0315 or 919/836-
2611.
3rd Annual WOW Pride Picnic. Char
lotte. Hornet’s Nest Park, 1pm. Info: 704/
535-8435.
Y Friday/28
LGHP Pride Dance. Durham. Spon
sored by the Lesbian/Gay Health Project
Sheraton University Center, 9 pm -1 am.
Info: 919/286-4107.
Y Saturday/29
6th Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride
March and Celebration. Durham. Gather
11 am at School of Science and Math on
Club Boulevard & 9th Street. March be
gins at Noon up Ninth Street to Main Street
to the DukeUniversity East Campus. Rally
to follow. Post-Pride Party at the Episco
pal Student Center on Alexander Avenue
on campus, and Our Own Place Open
House for women. Info: 919/942-3858.
“Ride with Pride” fi'om Charlotte to
Durham on First Tuesday bus. Leaves
7:30 am. Tickets; $20,704/567-8006.
Y Sunday/30
Volleyball Tournament. Raleigh.
Kiwani’s Park. Info: 919/942-3858.
INDEX
Between the Covers
Page
21
Classifieds
22
Fun and Gaymes
21
Letters To The Editor
16
Metrollna Briefs
7
Notes from Above
23
Out and About
4
Poetry Contest
21
Pride Profile: Martha Wilson
8
Quirks & Quotes
4. 19
The Soft Spot
20
...Sounds Good
11